1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to golf clubs and more specifically to golf clubs used for putting.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are two skills which a golfer must develop in order to putt a golf ball with the consistency and accuracy required for a good round of golf. First, the golfer must develop an ability to estimate both a target line and an initial speed for the ball which will to cause it to travel across the putting surface and fall into the hole. Second, the golfer must develop an ability to consistently aim the putter and strike the ball so that it will depart the putter very nearly along the target line and very nearly at the correct initial speed. Relatively minor putter aiming errors and initial ball speed errors can result in badly missed putts.
While natural ability and practice are required in order for a golfer to fully develop these two skills, it is very helpful for him to use a putter which provides visual alignment feedback during address, during aiming, and during the backswing and putting strokes. Undetected errors in positioning and alignment of the putter head during any of these phases of putting can cause the golfer to miss putts, make erroneous aiming compensations, and prolong or make impossible full development of his natural abilities. That designers have long recognized this fact is evidenced by the numerous examples of putter configurations and putter design schemes in the patent literature.
In general, for prior art putters, design features intended to assist the golfer in aiming, positioning and stroking the putter may be grouped into one or more of the following categories:
(a) Designs intended to help the golfer aim the putter. When a putter is properly aimed, the target line and an intersecting line drawn normal to the putter's striking face defines a vertical plane. Examples of this prior art are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,537,320 to Marsh, 3,880,430 to McCabe, 3,888,484 to Zitco, 3,888,492 to Cabot, 3,954,265 to Taylor, 4,138,117 to Dalton, 4,141,556 to Paulin, 4,659,083 to Szczepanski, 4,688,798 to Pelz, 4,962,931 to Jazdzyk, Jr., 4,964,639 to Tucker, 5,046,740 to D'Eath, 5,072,941 to Klein, and 5,125,664 to Evans.
(b) Designs intended to help the golfer position the putter head for the correct angle of lie. When a putter is positioned at the design angle of lie for his club, a line drawn normal to the striking face and an intersecting longitudinal axis of the club head defines a vertical plane. Examples of this prior art are contained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,549,300 to Pelz, 3,880,430 to McCabe, 4,138,117 to Dalton, 4,693,478 to Long, 5,004,237 to Antonious, 5,072,941 to Klein, 5,078,398 to Reed et al, and 5,125,664 to Evans.
(c) Designs intended to help the golfer position the putter head for the correct angle of loft. When a putter is positioned at the design angle of loft for the club, a line drawn normal to the striking face is inclined to the horizontal at the design angle of loft of the striking face. Examples of this prior art are contained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,549,300 to Pelz and 3,880,430 to McCabe, 4,138,117 to Dalton, 4,693,478 to Long, 4,871,174 to Kobayashi, 5,004,237 to Antonious, and 5,072,941 to Klein.
(d) Designs intended to help the golfer position the putter blub head laterally relative to the ball. Examples of this prior art are contained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,888,492 to Cabot, 4,138,117 to Dalton, 4,688,798 and 4,754,976 to Pelz, 4,962,931 to Jazdzyk Jr., 5,046,740 to D'Eath, 5,072,941 to Klein, and 5,125,664 to Evans.
(e) Designs which comprise putter head weight distribution schemes to help the golfer avoid introducing putter head rotational errors due to inertial effects during the backswing and putting strokes. Examples of this prior art are contained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,954,265 to Taylor, 4,693,478 to Long, 4,754,976 to Pelz, 4,815,739 to Donica, 4,871,174 to Kobayashi, 4,895,371 to Bushner, 4,898,387 to Finney, 5,046,740 to D'Eath, and 5,078,398 to Reed et al.
A prevalent design for conventional putter heads is that of a transverse blade of 3.5 to 5.5 inches wide (heel to toe), 0.5 to 1.5 inches long (striking face to aft end), and 0.5 to 1.5 inches high. The shaft connector elements of these conventional putters typically attach to the blade near the heel.
A consequence of using one of these conventional putters is that the golfer is provided limited visual alignment means to assist him in achieving alignment of the putter with the target line. Many of these putters provide some form of longitudinal indicia in an attempt to overcome this problem. However, it may be appreciated that considerable skill is required for the golfer to accurately position and aim a putter by orienting its most prominent feature, the transverse blade, so that it is perpendicular to the target line. The putters taught by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,880,430 to McCabe, 4,659,083 to Szczepanski, and 4,693,478 to Long are examples of conventional blade type putters which provide short alignment indicia.
Some designers have sought to address this shortcoming of conventional putters by providing putters which have narrow, elongated bodies resembling croquet mallets. While these putter heads effectively help the golfer align the putter head with the target line, they are not in conformance with the United States Golf Association (USGA) rules of golf. Although the USGA allows far greater latitude in the design of putters than for other golf clubs, a requirement of the USGA rules is that the lateral dimension of the striking face (heel to toe) be greater than the club head's longitudinal dimension (striking face to aft end). Examples of this style putter are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 179,002 to Hoffmeister and 179,590 to Carper.
Other prior art putter designers teach essentially tee-shaped putter heads. These putter heads combine an elongated body with a transverse member. In general, these putters conform with the USGA rules of golf provided that the striking face width is greater than the longitudinal dimension of the club head.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,138,117 to Dalton, 4,141,556 to Paulin, 4,688,798, to Pelz, 4,754,976 to Pelz, 4,964,639 to Tucker, and 5,072,941 to Klein all show elongated body configurations with various alignment features and indicia. While these putters provide the golfer with substantially more visual alignment capability than do conventional putters, the tee-shaped putter heads taught by these patents still present the golfer with prominent lateral features which can be distracting. Furthermore, putters in accordance with each of these patents show the shaft positioned substantially aft of the striking face. This shaft location results in a putter which feels distinctly different from conventional putters. Experienced golfers can be distracted by this feel during the backswing and putting strokes.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,537,320 to Marsh, 3,888,484 to Zitco, 3,888,492 to Cabot, 4,895,371 to Bushner, 4,962,931 to Jazdzyk Jr., and 5,046,740 to D'Eath teach a tee-shaped putter with the shaft connector element located near the striking face of the putter. These designs provide more visual alignment capability than do conventional putters but still maintain the distraction of prominent transverse elements.
In summary, my golfing experience, my tests of prior art putters, and my observations of other golfers have shown that conventional and other prior art putters provide either insufficient visual alignment features or have substantial distracting transverse or tapered features. Many golfers are unable to fully develop their natural abilities using these putters. It was this finding which led to further study of prior art putters and to the discovery of the present invention which fulfills the need for a putter having substantial alignment features, virtually no distracting transverse features, and the feel of a conventional putter.